Barricaded Armed Man Removed From Basking Ridge Home After 6-Hour Stand-Off

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — It was a peaceful outcome for authorities after an adult Basking Ridge man barricaded himself in a bathroom with a loaded weapon for six hours Monday in the township, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.

On Jan. 30 at around 9:45 a.m., Bernards Township Police were called to a home on Goltra Drive to help Bridgeway PESS (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Services) with an emotionally disturbed resident, said McDonald.

Police found the adult man, whom authorities are not identifying, had barricaded himself in a bathroom with a loaded firearm, said McDonald.

Police spoke with the man to try to get him to surrender.

At around 12:55 p.m., Somerset County SWAT team, along with the Crisis Negotiators Team, Somerset County Communications Field Comm, Somerset County TEMS (Medics), along with municipal medical personnel also came to help.

A Crisis Negotiator then began speaking with the barricaded man. During negotiations, the barricaded man left the bathroom on multiple occasions armed with a handgun, according to the report.

At around 3:15 p.m. a Somerset County SWAT member deployed a TASER at the armed man when he left the bathroom, which caused him to drop the weapon. Additional SWAT Officers were then able to gain control of the man without further incident, according to the report.

There were no injuries to any parties involved, and the man was turned over to medical personnel to be taken to a medical facility for evaluation.

Prosecutor McDonald commended the law enforcement response to this situation. The de-escalation tactics along with subsequent deployment of a less lethal device (TASER) resulted in the successful outcome of this incident.